A European discount grocer with plans to expand in the U.S. could pose a "formidable" threat to grocers like Publix Super Markets Inc. Lidl chose the metro D.C. region over downtown Charlotte for its U.S. headquarters, reports the Washington Business Journal , a sister news organization. The German grocer could open 100 stores in the U.S. initially with stores to open no later than 2018, unnamed sources told Supermarket News , though that number hasn't been confirmed.